1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for conducting commercial transactions over a distributed communication network, such as the Internet, and more specifically, the World Wide Web. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system wherein media companies and media advertising purchasers are able to sell and buy media advertising time or media advertising space, or a combination of advertising time and space, on a local, nationwide, or worldwide basis from a single site on a distributed communication network.
2. Background and State of the Art
The impact of developments in information technology and digital technology on the broadcasting and mass media communication industry is in its infancy. The advent and rapid development of the Internet and advanced digital television technologies herald an exponential increase in the number of communication, entertainment and information resources over those existing today.
This increase in media content will bring with it a concomitant expansion in advertising “shelf-space.” The broadcast television audience, already splintered, will continue to fragment to other information/entertainment sources. Advertisers will need to become more astute in making media buying decisions to achieve their goal: that is, to reach their target audience in the most efficient manner possible.
The present system for the media (e.g., television and radio) advertising market is dominated by media agencies that sell advertising time for the media companies, and by the internal sales forces of the media companies themselves. Each month, more options become available for media advertising placement, which buyers of advertising time do not presently have sufficient tools to evaluate. The entrenched agency/client relationship has caused media advertising, especially television advertising, to be overpriced in terms of its cost per thousand viewers (CPM). Advertising agencies buy particular media time for their clients based on their level of comfort with the research model that supports the medium, and not because it represents the most efficient way for the advertiser to reach its demographically targeted audience. This model is further reinforced by the bundling of media availabilities by media representatives for sale to buyers in packages, rather than selling the availabilities individually.
With the state of the advertising audience being as fragmented as it is, only to grow more so in the future, it is no longer sufficient for advertisers to reach just large numbers of viewers. Rather, there is a need for media advertising purchases to be closely targeted to a marketer's demographic. What is needed is a model that takes into account the broadcast networks' loss of share, the fast growth of new media platforms to reach audiences, and the blossoming digital environment which will create even more content viewing choices. Presently, no such model exists. Recent consolidations in the media representation industry has actually left media sellers with less options to sell their inventory of advertising time.
Another problem in the art pertains to advertising time that has been paid for by the buyer, but during which the buyer's advertisement or commercial did not air. This can be caused by a number of different factors, such as preemption by live events or special bulletins, power outages, errors and the like. For any such advertisement or commercial, the seller must “make good” on the contract by running or airing the buyer's advertisement at a later time, without further cost to the buyer. The seller must keep track of these “makegoods” in the buyer's account by crediting the buyer each time a paid commercial has failed to run for whatever reason. More importantly, the buyer wishes to be able to verify that advertising time paid for was actually used to run the buyer's advertisement or commercial during the time and/or day specified in the contract. Conventionally, this has proved to be a daunting and costly task, especially in cases where the buyer may have multiple commercials or advertisements running. in different geographical markets, at different times, over different days, and perhaps multiple times per day. There exists a need in the art to simply and reduce the burden and expense to the buyer to verify that he has gotten what he has already paid for.